Geoffrey Rono, a one-time large wheat farmer, has found his footing in greenhouse tomato farming, having made the switch in 2016.
“I planted 70 acres of wheat and made some little profit and I was encouraged to increase the acreage to 150 acres only to burn my fingers. I gave up altogether.”
Before going into tomato farming, Rono visited a number of farmers in Kajiado County to get tips on the agribusiness.
“Most of the greenhouses I saw during the trip were constructed using metal bars, but I chose to use timber and wooden poles in my unit as they are cheap and locally available,” Rono says.
Rono ploughed Sh350,000 [3,500 USD] as he embarked on horticulture farming, with the money going into a greenhouse measuring 40 by 16 metres, a water tank, seeds, a water pump and labour.
“Extension officers are hard to come by these sides, so I relied on the Internet to get information on construction of greenhouses, planting, diseases and pests.”